Game journals for board games I engage in, mostly PBEM.
Some journals are updated while the game is ongoing, some afterwards.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

We the People (Revolution III)

This is the latest rematch after I have lost twice to Dennis. He spots me two PCs to start with this time. I am pretty new to We the People, so my commentary is only likely to illustrate that I have no idea what I am doing.

My main goal this game is to pay better attention and not get my forces caught without retreat capabilities, a mistake I have made too often in previous efforts.

1775

The game starts with quite a few PC placements. The Brits take an upper hand in Massachusets and Virginia, while the rest of the board is fairly loyal to the Americans or neutral. The Brits also hem Washington in a bit (his only escape route is to Newport, RI) to create threat that the Americans have to respond to, and also trying to get some freedom of action in New England.

Cornwallis and 3 CUs land in Barnstable. I don't have the cards to move Howe twice, so I don't want to attack with him into Lexington and Concord and then suffer attrition.

Right after his arrival in the colonies, Cornwallis attacks Greene in Providence. I could have attacked Washington, but if I defeat Greene, Washington will be forced to move to avoid a battle where he could be eliminated. That will force Washington into Winter quarters a card play earlier than he may have liked, and may allow me to move Howe to someplace useful like New York. Cornwallis wins the battle, but only inflicts 1CU loss (depite winning on a DE card). Green retreats to Hartford and then Washington retreats to Albany.

Unfortunately, the low losses in Providence means that there is very little room for maneuver. So instead of moving Howe somewhere useful, which is no longer possible, Carleton marches from Quebec to Pittsburgh. From this position he threatens the Continental Congress, and may be able to take them off the board at the start of next turn. At minimum, his presence will force a defensive American response.

At present, the war is going to end in 1781.

1776

No campaign cards, so unfortunately, I will probably not be able to disperse the Continetal Congress. I do have a fair number of Ops cards and an amnesty card. So we will see what mischief I can make.

Predictably, the US plunks reinforcements in Philadelphia to protect the Continental Congress. It's only 2CU, and I wonder if he is low on Ops this turn. Cornwallis heads to Hartford to finish off Greene, and open the coastal route to New York, where I hope to gain control of some ports in order to move my base of operations further south. After a tense battle, Cornwallis prevails and the coast is now open.

The Americans reinforce Arnold in Philadelphia with another 2 card. The Brits bring in their own reinforcements, Burgoyne and 5CU, to Norfolk. I am hoping to bring some pressure to bear from the South, or at least maintain the threat.

A spate of PC placements follows, as both sides try to snap up what is left of the colonies loyalty. Near the end of the year, the Brits offer an Amnesty to clear out American sympathizers and Howe marches down the coast to New York, where he sets up Winter Quarters.

The Brits commit a terrible blunder, however, and fail to notice a group of PCs that are isolated, causing 6 PCs in the south to come off the board.

At present, the war is going to end in 1781.

1777

Fresh off their blunder, the Brits pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and sally forth for a new year.

Many Ops cards, one campaign, and one amnesty card make a terrific tonic. The initial goal is to tighten the noose around General Washington. At a minimum, hopefully I can force him to squander a move somewhere to move out of harm's way. Secondarily, I will be looking to make inroads into territories where the Americans are strong, picking up a few PCs at a time, as best I can. Thirdly, I want to enable myself to place PCs in the south again, where my blunder has locked me out.

The Americans reinforce Washington in Albany and spend the Winter training, ending any advantage the British Regulars may have had. The Brits and Americans continue to snap up open spaces in the North East, placing PCs throughout the area.

Clinton+4CU arrive in Montreal. If Washington does not move with the next card, he could get cut off by my campaign card. Clinton can cut off his escape routes to the North while Howe moves in from the south to attack. Dennis notes this in plenty of time, however, and Washington skips off to Pittsburgh to attack Carleton, who is surrounded (so much for my vow to watch this more closely). Things go badly for the Brits, and Carleton is removed along with 2CUs.

From this point, however, the turn starts to go better for the Brits. Burgoyne moves to Salem where he can place a British PC which will re-open the South to British PC placement. Green and 3 American CUs arrive in Albany just in time to meet an attack from Howe, who routs the 3CUs worth of new recruits.

With casualties mounting, Lafayette and 3CUs turn up in Alexandria. It's a saving grace that the Brits have forced the Americans to spend so many Ops on reinforcements this turn! Otherwise, he could have turned the whole map blue.

The Brits place PCs in Salem and Albany, freeing Burgoyne and Howe for further action with the campaign card and then remove PCs using their amnesty in Petersburg and Abingdon. The Brits are planning an assault on Alexandria and removing those PCs will give them a miltia advantage in Virginia.

The US is forced to discard their last 2 cards (including European War). The British final campaign eliminates Lafayette and his entire force from Alexandria and moves Carleton to Norwich, from which he can take control of New Hampshire next turn.

The best news for the British at turn's end is the number of casualties they have inflicted. They have 18 CUs on the board, opposed by only 5CUs with Washington and 4CUs locked down defending the Continental Congress.

1778

A spectacular hand this turn, with the key being Continental Line Mutiny. I can consolidate the open areas of the board a bit, since he will not be able to place PCs after this card is played.

He gets the French Alliance card, and plays it immediately, to bring the French Navy, Rochambeau and 5 CUs into Baltimore. Oh well, this is about as late as it has appeared in our games thusfar, and at least I didn't have to play it and help him out myself. The Continental Line Mutiny hits as my first card play, and then we're into the turn for real.

He brings 3CU into play with Lafayette at Wyoming Valley, and Howe immediately moves to attack them. I want to keep the attrition going. Howe overwhelms Lafayette and causes 2CU of losses. Dennis then brings 3CU of reinforcements into Reading to join Lafayette. I place PCs over two card plays in Concord (securing NH), Charlotte (giving acces to SC), Petersburg, Camden (isolates Cheraw), and Hillsboro (isolates Wake).

He forces me to discard, so I will not be moving last this turn, though the card that I lose is a war ends in 1783 card, so not a huge loss. Carleton+5CUs arrive in Wilmington. But he moves Lafayette to Springfield, joining the 1CU there.

I'd like to move Carleton with my last card, but Howe is exposed, and he's not really going to make a serious dent in Pennsylvania, while Lafayette's presence in Springfield creates all kinds of threats. So, instead, Howe leaves Pennsylvania to attack Lafayette. We get an absurd card distribution which puts us in serious danger of losing the battle if Lafayette counterattacks. Luckily, he doesn't, and though we inflict no casulaties, Lafayette is forced to retreat. Unfortunately, he is also able to move unopposed to Rhode Island, where he will bring the locals back into line.

I get a terrible draw this turn. Two discards, a card to remove an American PC in NC, where I control pretty much all the spaces, and then three 2's and a 1 card. All my "3" rated Generals are locked in place.

The Americans start aggressively this turn. Lafayette and 5CUs head to Hartford to attack Cornwallis and his 3CU. and they are quickly overwhelmed. Corwallis escapes with just 1 CU to New Haven. Luckily, reinforcements (4CU) join Lafayette in New Haven, allowing him some safety.

At this point, North's Government collapses, and the war is going to end in 1779! I have no war ends cards of my own, so I have to assume that this is the last turn. I have a solid lead in colonies, but my lack of mobility could be an issue.

The Brits place PCs in Cheraw and Ninety-Six, seizing control of South Carolina.

The Americans place PCs in Hartford (taking control of Connecticut), Monmouth (taking control of NJ), and Gilbert Town.

The Brits place PCs in New Haven and Augusta (Connecticut and Georgia are now Neutral), but the Americans place a PC in St. Mary's, retaking Georgia immediately afterwards.

The Brits discard and Lafayette moves once again, this time to Concord, where, when they flip the PC, they will take control of NH.

The Brits discard once again. Rochambeau moves his force south, taking advantage of John Glover Marblehead Regiment, to move all the way to Camden. From this position, they will take control of South Carolina also.

The Brits have only two cards left. One of them removes the American PC in Gilbert Town, which has no impact on the game.

At this point, the Americans cannot win, having control of only 8 colonies, and I need 2 colonies to manage a win for myself. The last card moves Cornwallis and 5CU to Newport. When Cornwallis flips the PC in Newport, the American PC in Hartford will be removed for isolation, giving the British control of both Rhode Island and Connecticut at the final bell!

Despite having below average mobility on the last turn, I have nothing to complain about, since my card draw throughout was extremely good and allowed me a lot of mobility with a minimum of discards. My blunder in isolating a string of PCs was luckily made up for by getting the Continental Line Mutiny at the right time.

I tried to be more aggressive in this game, using the British leadership to be the attacker and cause attrition. Even though he has an inexhaustible supply of CUs, each CU he brings onto the board is one PC he doesn't place. In the middle game this worked well in giving me the initiative.